Machine for splitting sheet material



J. J. CALLAHAN MACHINE FOR SPLITTING SHEET MATERIAL Nov, 1, 1927.

. Filed Aug. 31, 1925 IHVE'HTUT zW l atent ed Nov. 1, 1927.

.uairen STATES "301m 5. CALLAHAN, or PEABbDY, MASSACHUSETTS, ssIeNoR130"THE 'IURNER TANNING MACHINERY COMPANY]; or PORTLAND, -MA INE, AConPonA'rIoN ior 7 MAINE.

, MACHINE FOR sPLITriNe'sHEET MATERIAL.

Application filed August 31, less; Serial No. 5s,e 31.

This invention relates to machines for splitting sheet material and isillustrated as embodied in a machine for splitting pieces of materialhaving thickness dimensions which diilerconsidera'bly in various parts iof the'sa nepiece of material. V

Splitting machines of well known commercial types commonly employed inoperations upon pieces of material of consid I p v same peripheral speedWherebyall portions erable area, such as hides, skins and leather,

' ordinarily comprise a gage roll of uniform diameter adjustable Withrelationto a cut,

' l f of material eachhaving predetermined thick-- ter' so as todetermine thedesired thickness otthe split to be taken from the body ofthe material, and a vvork supporting and H feeding means designed toaccommodate variations in'the thickness idnnension'of pieces.

of "work wherein the variations in thickness are notpredetermined norvery considerable in extent; Suchaconstruction as that described isnotadapted to splitting operations upon pieces of material having asurface contour of predetermined unevenness such as that provided byridges or other ele- V vated portions,;or by concaved or' depressedportions, and characterized by veryjconsid erable differences in thethickness dimen-" sions of different parts of the material;

' Itfisan object of the invention to provide a machine adapted forsplitting pieces nessvariations or thickness dimensions differing'veryconsiderably ,in amount in various portions of each piece, which Willbesimple and durable in construction and esp'ecially effective for thepurposes intended. 1T0 this end, and in accordance with importantfeatures of the invention there is provided a gage having surfaces whichare adapted to be coincidental with an uneven surface'ot'the work whenthe latter is in engagement with the gage. Conveniently, the

gage Comprises plurali y of members havingdifierent surt'ace contoursadapted to contact with, and position the work as the latter is movedrelatively to the cutter. As exemplified, the gage members are rollersof unequalfldiameter adapted to rotate at the same peripheral speedwhile the work is being fed past the gage For purposes of illustrationthe invention isshcwn embodiedin: a machine for splitting a piece ofrubber of uneven thickness into two equal partsfhaving practically identical surfacefcontours, these parts being utilized in the manufacture ofrubber treads for automobile tires. In accordance with a further featureof the invention and to adapt it to splitting'such pieces of rubber,there .is provided In the illustrated machine, im-, proved feeding meanscomprising a plurality of members having feeding surfacesdesigned i toconform to. the contourof the uneven sur-., face of the Work to beffedand driven at the l "the work i H I.

' It is toIbe understood that in various re f spects the improved gageandfeeding means arenot limited ,to use in a machine of the type hereindisclosed, or "to use in "splitting rubber treads but may have, othersimilar PATENT orrie -1;.

applications and uses. For example, in case thework has one'fiat surfaceby which it may be either gaged orfifed,the feeding means may co operatewith .a.-gage"rol l adapted to gage from a levelsurface on the work, in.presenting the Work to a tool. Aga n, the gaging-means may beemployed ina construction comprising a feeding roll 'or' other feeding memberdesigned to en gage with a substantially flat work ,to feed the same.

Other ,teatures of the in combinat ons of parts will be described in thedetafled specification and pointed out in the appended claims,

lnthedrawings, v

1 is a view in side .elevationof a splitting machine, parts beingomitted and other parts broken away the more clearly to disclose thefeatures of the invention; and

Fig. 2 is a transverse, sectional view on the linef2 2 of Fig. 1. e v .1In the illustrated machine there is pro vided cutter 10 of the -bandknifetype which is driven continuously in one direc Tenn-011' and noveltion to draw its cuttingec'lgethrough terial fed to the cutter." Forsupportingthei knifelO there is 12 and in spacer relation thereto anupper upon the lower jaw.*- For a more complete disclosure of the bandknife splitting fem'ec h provided a lower knife 15" knife jaw 14 whichserves as a retaining' 7 plate to hold the knite inproper positionsurface onthe' F i States Letters-Pate11t No. 626,858, granted Iautomobile tires. For engagement with the thick portion of the workthere is provided, -on a shaft 18 of the feeding means a feed member 20splined on the shaft to rotate therewith. Next to the thick portion ofthe work is a portion which has'slanting surfaces merging into a thinportion of the work. As shown, a frusto-conical feed member 22 having aslanting surface corresponding closely to the slanting surface of thework is mounted loosely on a sleeve 24 secured to the shaft 18. In otherwords, the feeding member 22 is not power driven but turns through itsfrictional contact with the work. As will be evident from inspection ofFig. 20f the drawings there is a second idler feeding member 23 alsofrusto-conical .in shape at the other 'end of the feeding member 20which may be of the same shape as the member 22. For engagement with thethin portion of the work there is provided a feeding member 28 which isrotatable upon sleeves 29 and 30, spacedwith respect to each other forthe receptionbf lubricating substances. Preferably, and as shown, thefeeding. member 28 is driven at a different rate of speed than the shaft18 and feeding mem' ber 20 by means which comprises a gear wheel 32having teeth in mesh with a I, toothed portion 34 integral with orfixedly secured to the feeding member 28. Shaft 36,upon which the gear32 is fixedly secured, is driven by power means (not shown). Fixedlysecured, preferably to the same shaft 36, is a gear 38 in mesh with a,gear 40 splined to shaft 18. The gears 38 and '40 s have such a relationto each other and to the gears 32 and 34 thatthe feeding member '20,which is smaller than the feeding member 28, is driven at the sameperipheral speed. 7

Preferably, and as shown, means is provided for pressing the feedingmembers yieldingly against the work, the said means comprising lntheconstruction shown, a-

pair of arms, one of which is shownfat 42 (Fig. 1) as pivoted at 44' inthe frame of the machine and carrying at one end journals for the shafts18 and 36. At its other end the arm 42is providedwith an opening throughwhich passes a rod 46 secured to acollar 48 upon a pivot bar 50 mountedin ing as a seat forone end of a spring 60, the

otherend of which engages a collar 62 near the free end of the rod 46and adjustably secured in place by nuts 64, so that the tension of thespring may be varied as desired.

Means is provided for gaging the work with respect to the cutting edgeof the cutter 10, the said'means serving also in the illustratedconstruction .as a feeding means in cooperation with the feeding membersalready described. As shown, the gaging means comprises a gage membersplined to a shaft 7 2 which carries all of the gaging members.

The gaging member 70 is of the same length as the feeding member 20 onthe shaft 18'sinc'e it co-operates with the feeding member 20 inengaging and feeding a thick portion of the work. At each end ofrthegage member 70 is a gage member 74 in the form of an idler rollf-rusto-conical in shape and having a cylindrical surface inclined inthe opposite direction from the inclined surface on the feeding idler 22of the work feeding means so that the two inclined surfaces may properlyengage the beveled portion of the work. Finally the gaging meanscomprises cylindrical gaging members 76 carried by spaced sleeve members78, 80, the latter being indirect contact with the shaft 72 and spacedfrom each other to provide for propcrlubrr ca"ion of the shaft 72 andthe parts which turn thereon. It is arranged so that the gage members 74and 76 Wlll turn on the shaft 7 2 since they must turn at a differentrate from the gage member 70 which is splined to the shaft 7 2. lt'willbe evident upon inspection of F 2 of the drawings that the feedingmember.20 and its cooperating gage member 70 are of a smaller diameterthan the other feeding and gaging members and that they must, therefore,rotate more rapidly in order to maintain the same peripheral speed forengagement with the work to move all parts the lower ends of rods 104which extend,

through'the usual head beam of the commercial type of belt knifesplitting machines.

The reason for pivoting the bearings 102150 the rods 10% isto permit acertain self ad justment of the backing cylinder 100 with respect to thegaging members. Preferably, and as shown, the backing cylinder 100 hasan enlarged cylindrical portion 106 to engage with andsupport thecentral gaging member 7 O which is of a reduced diameter when comparedwith the other gaging members on the shaft 72. As shown, the endpoitions of the cylinder 100 furnish backing support for the gagingmembers 7 6;

In the operationof splitting a piece of work such as a double treadindicated in Fig.-

2 of the drawings, the work is introduced by,

, passing it along a table 90 until its forward end comes intoengagement with the feeding and gaging members, care being taken thatthe thickest part of the work is presentedto thegage and feed members ofsmallestdiameter. For the purposeof guiding the work properly, sidegages may be provided of any well known type made adjustable to ward andfrom each other on the table 90. As the work is engaged by the feedingand gaging means it is conducted to the cutting edge of the cutter 10and fed, continuously tothe cutter with the result that one portion or,layer of the work is directed upwardly as at 92 over the upper knife jaw14: while the other part 94 is directed downwardly below the lower knifejaw 12 and to a work guiding member 96.

Having described my Patent of the United States is 1. In a machine forsplitting a piece of rubber of varying thickness dimensions into twoequal port-ions and adapted for use in,

the manufacture of rubbertreads of automobile tires, a cutter, a gagehaving a concaved portion. for the accommodation of a relatively thickerportion of 'the'piece of rubber, and feeding means for co-operation withthe, gage roll in feeding the work to the cutter, comprising afeedmgmember of "reduced diameter opposedtothe concaved POl'tlOIL ofthegage. member, other feeding members for engaging the thinner edge'portions of the work in co-operation with the gage roll, and means fordriving'all of'the feeding members at the same peripheral speed,

2. In a machine for splitting a piece of rubber of varying thicknessdimensions into ter comprising a gage member of reduced diameter toaccommodate thick part of the invention, what 7 I claim as new anddesire to secure byLetters piece of rubber, gage member of largerdiameter to gage a thinner part of the rubvber,and power means fordriving the reduced gage member, the other, gage member being free tomove at the same peripheral speed. 7 V 1 j I 3. In a machineforsplittlng a piece of rubber of varying thickness dimensions into twoequal portions and adapted for use in the manufacture ofrubbertreads ofautomobile tires, a'cutter, a gage having a concaved portion for tl eaccommodation of the relatively" thickerport-ion of the piece of rubber,and

{feeding means for cooperation-with the;

gage roll infeeding the work to the cutter comprising a shaft, a feedingmember splined to the shaft, and having a cylindrical surface forco-operation with the con-f caved surface of the gage roll, feedingmembers on the shaft for engaging witha thinner portion of the rubberpieceon each side of;

a tool, and a member forgaging work, prior to the operation of the'tool,having gaging surfaces in a-plurality of planes so arranged that saidgaging surfaces are substantially coincidental with the gaged surfacesof the work when the latter is in contact with the gage; c 7 in amachine of the character described,

a tool, and means for gaging work prior to the operation of the toolcomprising a plurality of members having different. surface contoursadapted'to contact-with the work while the latter is means. a h

6. In a machine of the character described, a tool, and means forgaging-work prior to the operationofthetool comprising a plurality ofrotary members having-different surface contours to engage the work andmoving at different rates of axial speed;

In a machine of thecharacter described, a tool, and means for gagingworkfprior to the operation of the tool comprising a.plu-' rality ofrollers of ,unequaldiameter adapted to rotate at the same peripheralspeed while tool; v 8. In a machine shaft, a sleevesplined to the shaftand havmg a cylindrical surface for gaging contact;

with the work, means for driving the shaft,

of the character described, cutter, and gaging means comprlslng a beingfed past the gaging g the work being fed past'the gage to t he i andother,work-gaging members on the Shea,

mounted to turn freely thereon, said sleeve.

and the other work gagingn iembers having I an unyielding backing toinsure theiraction T as gaging means.

9. In a machine of the character described, a-cutter, a gage, and meansfor feeding the work to the cutter, comprising feed membersof differentdiameters disposed in end-j to-end relationship and providing, inconjunction, awork-engaging surface of a contour shaped to conformsubstantially to that of'the engaged surface of the work.

10. In a machine of the character described, a cutter, a gage fordetermining the thickness of the material to be removed by the cutter,and means for feeding the material tothe cutter comprising a pluralityof members having different surface cont-ours corresponding to.variously shaped surfaces on the work and moving at the same peripheralspeed, whereby all portions of the work are fed at the same rate to thecritter.

11. Ina machine of the character described, a cutter, a gage fordeterminingt-he thickness of a split to be removed from the body of apiece of material, means for feeding the. material to the cutter comprising a plurality of rotary members, and power means for driving certainof the members, others of. the members having surfaces inclined to theaxis of their rotation and mounted idly for movement by the material.

12. In a machine of the character described,

a cutter, gaging means for determining the.

thicknessof the split to be removed from the material, and a pluralityof feeding members for advancing the work to the cutter, said gagmgmeans and feeding members having rev-ersely located surfaces each shapedto conform to corresponding surfaces on the engaged portions of thework, certain of the feeding members being driven at different rates ofangular speed to secure uniform feeding of the work.

13. In a'machine of the character described, a tool, gaging means, andmeans scribed a tool ga in means and means for 7 7 n) O k: 7

feeding the workt-o the tool, oneof said means comprising a plurality ofmembers 'havin-g c y'lindrical surfaces for engaging with the work andother members having frusto-conical surfaces for engaging with the work,said last-mentioned members he- Iiong free to turn relatively to theother memers.

16. In a machine of the character described, a cutter, gaging means, andmeans for feedingthe work ,to the cutter, one of said means comprising ashaft, a member feeding work to the tool, one of said means comprising aplurality of workengaging members of differentdiameters'and having thesame peripheral speed. I

18. In a machine of the character described, a cutter, a gage, andfeeding means for. co-operation with the gage for feeding.

the w rk to the cutter, said gage and feeding means having eachwork-engaging members of different diameters and having substantiallythe same peripheral speed.

19. In a machine of the character described, a. cutter, a gage, andfeeding means for co-operation with the gage for feeding the work to thecutter, said gage andfeedin means being provided with members of.

reduced diameters with respect to other men'ibcrs of the gage andfeeding means, respectively, for accommodation between them of thethicker portions of the work, and means for driving the members ofreduced diameters at the same peripheral speed as the other members. I

2 in a machine of the character described, a cutter, a gage, feedingmeans for co-operation with the gage in feeding work interposed betweenthe feeding means and the gage to the cutter, lever arms for supportingthe feeding means, compressible springs co-operating with the lever armsfor yieldii'igly' holding the feeding means against the work, and meansfor holding the gage unyieldinglyin position with respect to the cutter.

21. In a machine of the character -de-.

scribed, a cutter, a gage, feeding means for work, means for driving thesecond,

co-operation with the gage in feeding the i work to the'cutter, a. pairof arms for supporting the feeding; means, a shaft mounted in the arms,a plurality of gears mounted on the shaft, said feeding means compris nga plurality of feeding members of different diameters, and gearsconnected with the feeding members and co-operating with the gears onthe shaft for driving the feeding' men'ibers at'the same peripheralspeed.

in testimony whereofl have signed my name to this specification.

JOHN J. CALLAHAN; j 5

